Dept. Of Homeland Security Turns On Jeff Sessions – Weed Is ‘Not A Factor In Drug-War’

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April 16, 2017

Marijuana, weed, cannabis, Mary Jane, kush or whatever you call it, has been a hot-button topic where the war on drugs is concerned since former President Reagan’s days in office. In fact, the conservative former commander-in-chief said weed, “is probably the most dangerous drug.”

It was rhetoric like Reagan’s that started conversation and next steps around marijuana as a gatewaydrug. The trickle down impact of Reagan-era war on drugs ended up being laws packed full of implicit bias, such as mandatory drug sentences.

In a shocking display of reason, a member of Donald Trump’s staff may have a view on marijuana that’s more in line with what states that have legalized weed, have found. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly went on the record to say that marijuana is “not a factor” in the war on drugs.

Kelly’s comments are especially timely as some of his colleagues have made it abundantly clear that they are quite interested in bringing back the war on drugs. Since weed is among the more common drugs, those who commit offenses involving marijuana will once again be thrown back into the limelight as those who are most frequently arrested/sentenced.

Kelly was talking to Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press; initially the discussion centered around Kelly’s work to stop drugs from entering America via Central America and Mexico. Seizing the chance to inquire about Kelly’s stance on weed, Todd asked Kelly his thoughts on where the legalization of marijuana fits into Kelly’s plans.

Surprisingly, this is when Kelly argued that weed “is not a factor in the drug war.” Kelly added:

‘Yeah, marijuana is not a factor in the drug war. It’s three things. Methamphetamine. Almost all produced in Mexico. Heroin. Virtually all produced in Mexico. And cocaine that comes up from further south.’

Kelly closed his thoughts on the subject by saying that in 2015 alone, the three drugs he mentioned, along with opiates, were the reason for the deaths of 52,000 people in American and cost the government $250 billion.

The total irony of Kelly’s comments is that he made them just days ahead of the date known to weed smokers as the day to smoke weed, 04/20.

Kelly’s full interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press, may be viewed below: